Deer Hunting

Went to the deer camp in South Arkansas last weekend and hunted with my flintlock rifle. I should have hunted with my camera. Could have gotten a nice shot of a one-horn spike at about 20 yards. He walked down the hill off my left shoulder and didn't see me sitting under a sweetgum tree until he got right in front of me at 20 yards and stopped broadside. He did one of those big-eared, wide-eyed double takes at me. Then he did the head bobs and the foot stomping before he walked off to the south. He was one of ten deer I saw Saturday, but since I only have one tag left, I'm saving it for a nice buck or a big doe later in the season. Even if I had wanted to shoot, a spike is not legal game in Arkansas.

I was kinda expecting to see more bucks, but nobody saw many. Mostly just saw does, fawns and a few small bucks. One guy saw an 8-point that he has seen before. Not a bad deer, but pretty much like one he already shot this year. Another guy shot and grazed a doe with his first shot at a deer with a flintlock. The set trigger surprised him, and he wasn't quite on target when it went off. I found some very short white hair where the deer had been standing, and never found any blood. We concluded that he must have just touched the brisket, shaving off the short hair.

See ya,
Bill Scurlock